News Bytes: Tesla, Apple, AT&T, Time Warner

Bite-sized chunks of news.

Last week Tesla CEO and founder Elon Musk wrote to employees advising that, as part of restructuring, approximately 9% of staff were to be let go. He explained the move was in response to the fact Tesla has not made an annual profit in 15 years and it was now time to “demonstrate that we can be sustainably profitable.” Business Insider reported that one video conference call ended in 250 staff being laid off without warning.

And in further Tesla woes...

Elon Musk is now dealing with a ‘saboteur’ within the company. In an email to all staff, Musk accused a staffer of “quite extensive and damaging sabotage”. It was reported that the email referred to changing of code on an internal product and leaking data to outsiders. In the email to staff, Musk wrote: "The full extent of his actions are not yet clear, but what he has admitted to so far is pretty bad. His stated motivation is that he wanted a promotion that he did not receive. In light of these actions, not promoting him was definitely the right move."

Apple cops $9m in fines

The ACCC has taken action against Apple for misleading customers with faulty iPhones and iPads. The investigation related to the 'error 53' which disabled some iPhones and iPads after users updated the iOS operating system. The ACCC found that at least 275 customers were told by Apple that they were no longer eligible for a remedy as their device had been repaired by a third party. The Federal Court found that under Australian Consumer Law customers were entitled to a repair or replacement, despite having used a third party. Apple has been ordered to pay $9 million in penalties.

AT&T swallows Time Warner

Once-telecomms company AT&T has completed its US$86 billion acquisition of Time Warner, reportedly renaming the company WarnerMedia. The Justice Department said it would not oppose the deal. In a statement, Randall L Stephenson, AT&T’s chairman and chief executive, said, “We’re going to bring a fresh approach to how the media and entertainment industry works for consumers, content creators, distributors and advertisers.” In 2000, America Online (AOL) splurged US$165 billion for Time Warner, which to this day remains the biggest merger in history.